Any Umass Gamma Zeta's here?
 

What's up! Just wondering if there are any Umass Gamma-Zeta's here. There's 1,500 alumni so I'm sure I'm not the only one that is on here. Let's here from ya, what year you are, where you live now, etc...

GAMMAZETA,

I hope you are still lurking on GC! Sorry none of got back with you.

Dont know if you are aware of the Local that is in the old LXA Chapter House at Amherst.

Two of the Local Omega Delta members were invited to Gen. Assembly.

Several of the G C members ment them, Myself, Lifesaver, and Jono at least.

There is things in the works to try to recolonize them and return Gamma Zeta to the fold once again.

If you are close to Amherst, you may want to stop by and meet them.

Look for Iliya and Lex. Great guys.

Great news! Thanks for the info. I heard rumors of having OD recolonize from other alumni. I was actually in Amherst just last week and drove by the house but I did not go in. Would you have any contact information for the two people you mentioned? Do they have email or a house phone maybe?

When I did drive by I also saw that ZBT had hung signs on the outside of the house. Anyone know if they are sharing it or something? I hope that once Gamma Zeta gets going again they will have the house to itself.

After talking to some of the alumni, I know some know the where abouts of some of the old LCA items that were in the house, composites, house history, etc. Maybe I should start rounding up some of the alums and getting something together to support the chapter? Anyone know if there is already an advisor assigned to the project that I can contact?

I think the brothers would feel more at ease and be more forthcoming if they knew a little more about you. When were you there; when did you graduate?

In any event, there's a short article I wrote for our last newsletter if you'd like to take a look.

http://www.bnzeta.org/docs/newsletters/betanews(2004-10).html

Scroll down to "General Assembly, Chapter 2".

ZAX,
Jono

Sorry that link doesn't work. Try http://alumni.bnzeta.org/ go to Communications, and "September 2004 The Beta News".

To Jono,
One thing is seriously wrong with your newsletter which I would appreciate being fixed. Although I graduated a little over 2 1/2 years ago, many of those "disenfranchised Lambda Chi's" you're talking about are some of my best friends and brothers. They are some of the most dedicated brothers I have ever met and they poured their blood, sweat, tears and $$$ to keep a dying tradition alive as long as possible. You have no idea of the cirumstances we were under for the last 5 years of our existence and unless you were there, I wouldn't be talking about it they way you have. As I was still semi-involved in the chapter at the time, AT NO TIME did any of the Lambda Chi's "torment" anyone. I am outraged that you would even consider using such language without the facts or any proof. Also have you seen the house? It has no more roof, the siding is falling off, it looks like a garbage dump on the outside. THE HOUSE NEVER LOOKED WORSE. The brothers put their trust (and given them a $600,000 house for $0) to LCAP and they have yet to produce any results. It is not the DO's fault at all. I know they worked hard making the house better, but it is in such disrepair that unless there is a major renovation, nothing will make it look any better. I would appreciate you getting your facts straight before rediculing and telling lies about other brothers. You also might want to ask nationals and L.C.A.P exactly why those Lambda Chi's were "disenfranchised", and if they don't tell you why, you can easily obtain court records in Northampton District Court and Hampden County Housing Court. Those Lambda Chi's weren't "disenfranchised", they were used and abused.

Give Jono a break, I just read his newsletter.

Your rant is typical of the "closed chapter" alumni, the house was stolen, everything is ruined, we have no idea what is going on....etc

The gist of Jono's article was upbeat on the future, stop whining and do something for the Gamma Chapter. Think about it YOU ARE CRYING about the "Melbourne Florida LCA newsletter" of all things based on their trip to GA, Holy Freakin Christ already.

Lenoxxx

First of all, you and your brothers in your chapter were not just wrongly accused of "tormenting" another fraternity. I don't appreciate anyone saying something completely untrue about my friends, me and my brothers no matter where they are. The house wasn't stolen from us, but there were ALOT of empty promises that were made to us to sell the house. Over three years there has been no visible improvements to the house despite promise after promise that if we sold it they would fix it up. The house is the same and all the major problems with it, mainly the roof, etc. havent been fixed. Considering you were not there and never saw the house, you should really stop your whining. Believe it or not, everything isn't all rainbows and butterflies with our nationals. LCAP just saw $$$ in our chapter house, and my brothers fell for it. The conditions and fraud got so bad that the brothers had to take LCAP to housing court and won. If you don't believe me the records are on file, help yourself. I don't know where Jono got his information from, but someone is lying to him.

Dear You,

I have to call you You since you haven’t given us a name to call you by, so I will just say you. It’s an inconvenience I can deal with.

My information came from a face-to-face conversation with those it happened to. I can’t research it any further than that since they’re the original source. Were they lying to me? Let’s look at the situation.

When a chapter loses its charter, are the members more likely to be happy or unhappy? You have to agree that they would be very unhappy about the situation – even more so when they discover someone else occupying their house. They were understandably bitter and their actions appear consistent with their state of mind. I didn’t specify the bleach poured over clothes and into computers, or drive-by obscenities or threats of torching the place, and won’t do so here. Did ya think it was all made up for my entertainment? I don’t think I was lied to.

On the other hand, you wrote September 9 on another thread that you recently found out your chapter was closed, indicating you’ve been out of the loop. You stated that you left 2 ½ years ago and in your own words, were “semi-involved at the time”. Unless you followed every brother every minute of every day after the loss of the charter (which would be physically impossible), you can’t say “they didn’t do that”.

I posted that link to give you a bit of insight into what you missed, and what the prospects are. They are good. I agree with Lenoxxx that it was it was upbeat. That’s why I wrote it. But if all you see is the bad, then you’re not helping anyone - not me, not you, not Gamma. Don’t kill the messenger. Instead of bitching out me, Lenoxxx, IHQ and LCAP, why don’t you bitch out the fine gentlemen who let your house go to hell and got the charter yanked? It’s been said that chapters don’t die, aren’t killed: they commit suicide.

You asked me to fix the article but I can’t change the past. I can’t re-write history. In fact, your posting only brings more interest to something you’d rather sweep under the rug. Face the truth head on.

What happened, happened. It’s over. If you really do care, however, then next time you find yourself driving by the house don’t just keep on going. Stop! Get out of the car and introduce yourself. Try to help them get things going again. Think positive. Good luck.

In ZAX,
Jono

By the way, I was initiated more than 30 years ago and my chapter has NEVER had a house - we still don't - and yet we have the largest student organization on campus and are doing very well.

You had Lambda Chi Alpha's first house, the first Subordinate Zeta, and still screwed it up. I'm pissed about that, and you should be ashamed.

First of all you should be ashamed,
Gamma Zeta did not lose it's charter. That just goes to show you how up to date you are. The brothers left the house because LCAP had failed to make any improvements to it and it proved to be unliveable. The brothers of LCAP disbanded in winter of 2002 I believe when they all left the house. Brothers couldnt get heat in their rooms, they helped to tear up a floor that LCAP promised to replace immediately, only to find out they lied, and then had to walk on subflooring for a whole year, the list goes on. That's why they had to take LCAP to housing court.
Second of all, you obviously have never been to a Umass-Amherst fraternity. So do your sources have any names for you? Perhaps a description? Because if there is any proof, I'll personally take a ride up to Amherst and "discipline" any one of my brothers that did that.

"bleach poured over clothes and into computers, or drive-by obscenities or threats of torching the place"

Are you kidding me? For Christ's sake, that happened to us EVERY WEEKEND. My buddy had TWO laptops stolen in one year, a 100 pound house speaker was stolen, two grills were stolen, countless playstation, cd's, movies, tv, dvd players were stolen. I had a $300 leather jacket stolen, my tv smashed and my room spraypainted. Not to mention violent rampages by random people in the house causing damage because LCAP never fixed the lock outside. 2 cars were broken into outside and their radios stolen. A band member and brother's $2500 trumpet was found broken in half and smashed, preventing him from continueing with marching band for the year. You want me to go on, cause there is still alot more? And by the way, the stuff I mentioned happend in about 1 1/2 years time. So don't give me that sh#& about "disenfrachised" gamma zetas doing stuff. Any police reports? Photos? In fact, two of my brothers that were there in the end actually went to a party at OD on opening weekend. They said they had a great time. I think you better take a step back.

Gamma Zeta didn't lose their charter. In fact there are many members still at Umass today. And they did not lose their house, they chose to move out because LCAP failed to uphold their promises of making the house liveable. I know you think nationals and lcap can do no wrong, but there are some surprises for you out there.

Those Gamma Zeta's didn't let the house go to hell. When I was there my first semester, we raised over $7,000 to install new hard wood floors, IN ONE SEMESTER. There was always pride and respect for the house. The problem came several years ago when it was discovered an alumni in charge of paying taxes had not done so in many years. It crushed us being tens of thousands of dollars in debt, BUT WE STILL WENT AND AND STILL PROSPERED. We thought our only way to save the house was to sell it to LCAP. The only worry that all the brothers had was that LCAP only wanted the house and would just try to kick us out. We believed them when they said they wanted to help us out and keep the chapter there. They promised support for recruiting, incentives, fixing up the house, and on and on. You know what happend, NOTHING. And don't give me this crap about nationals and lcap not having any sort of agenda. I love LCA, but you also have to realize they are here to make money.

But honestly I don't even care about that stuff. I'm actually not bitter, it was the greatest time of my life and would do it all over again in a heartbeat because the good always outweighed the bad, and there was ALOT of bad.

But the thing that gets me the most is that there is somewhere on the internet telling lies about MY chapter committing illegal activity. I dont even care if it is just a sentence or not on some obscure website. Those are my BEST FRIENDS and BROTHERS you are accusing now, including me. And thats bulls&* taking some strangers word without finding out any proof or evidence.

You shouldn't be ashamed of losing that house, it was never yours, it was GAMMA ZETA's. It was me, my brothers and over 1500 alumni that made that house through their blood sweat tears and $$$. Every alumni of that house had a legal and equal share of its ownership. I'm not pissed about losing it, I just want a chapter at Umass, and neither should you be pissed. After all, LCA and Gamma Zeta arent about houses, they're about people, right???

That's nice, I still believe Jono, at least we have a name for him- not giving a name ruins alot of credibility.

My chapter is in an LCAP owned house ( Shippensburg- Pa ), and they have been excellent to the chapter and the alumni. LCAP has worked with us to improve things at the house to make it a better facility over the last 8 months. In fact they did major renovations to Montana, Butler, URI, OSU, MSU and are doing alot at Miami-Ohio right now- this is what I know of.

So now you want me to belive that they are doing good honest work at these chapters , but making the Umass brothers live in a house without floors and a roof, and you could raise 7 grand in 5 months, and they just screwed you over.

Or maybe you are just really out of it.....heck who are you?

whatever dude

Lenoxxx

Deffinately going to agree with Lenoxx and Jono. Try gainging some respect around her before you tell brothers they don't know what they are talking about.

Brothers,

I have been a member of our fraternity for forty years. I have been involved in my Zeta since I graduated in 1967. I have spent an enormous amount of time working with the members of my chapter. It has been a great experience, so much so that I hope to continue my involvement with them for as long as they want me and I can do a good job of supporting them.

I have held various opinions over the years about the leadership of of International Fraternity. Three years ago, unknown to most of us, our organization was spending its self to death. New leadership has taken control, through the Grand High Zeta, that has done the hard things, like firing people and cutting budgets, that were long over due. Read the "State of the Fraternity" address on the IHQ webpage to see where we are going. I support our IHQ and its progressive leadership. As I become more involved with some of them I become more impressed with them. Yes, Lambda Chi Alpha needs to be run like a business. There is no excuse for Zetas or Brothers to not meet their sworn obligations to our fraternity. But running Lambda Chi like a business is not incompatible with Brotherhood. Brotherhood does not mean you allow members to violate house rules, not pay their bills, or treat their Brothers with disrespect. We expect more from Lambda Chis than other people because of our common bond through our fantastic ritualistic experience. My point being, that I sincerely believe that the people I know at IHQ are honorable men, men of integrity, and men I know would look out for my back....

I am currently the President of Zeta Upsilon's House Corporation at Maimi University in Oxford, Ohio. After experiencing much trouble, focused on financial and recruiting problems, the Undergaduates and our Alumni determined that we should exit gracefully, in a good relationship with the University and IHQ, and start fresh. I am extremely proud of the young men of my Zeta who struggled for years to make it work for us. I respect them, they are my friend and Brothers, and I will do anything I can to help them in the future. It is possible to go through a terrible situation like this with dignity, honor, and respect. We didn't lose our Charter either. IHQ said keep it so we can put back up in our Chapter House as soon as possible. I am looking at it right now....

Twenty-two months ago, we signed an agreement with LCAP. Unlike the experience related here, LCAP has kept every commitment and ever promise made to us. Right now about $400,000 of improvements are being finished; they got us a three year lease with another Farternity; and when "black mold" was discovered, they put an additional $30,000 into the project to make it work. We have a contract with them that will allow us to take back ownership in the future. Certain conditions need to be meet. We agreed to the terms and they are delivering on their promises. I realize conditions and situations can differ; but, in my opinion, LCAP is best thing to come along since we went to the Associate Membership program. Housing is a major problem for our fraternity and LCAP is an inovative solution. I am sure they are not perfect. But our experience really stands in stark contrast to what has been said here about Gamma Zeta. Maybe someone should invite LCAP to respond to these comments so that we can "hear the other side of the story."

With respecct to all,

Yours in ZAX,
Mike Raymond, ZUZ

Brothers,

Sorry about some of the "Earpspeak" that slipped into my comments. Old Age?

Yours in ZAX,

Mike Raymond, ZUZ

Mike well said,

I will also concur that the staff at LCAP has been accountable to their promises and has been nothing but a good thing to happen to our chapter at Shippensburg- Pa. I feel that they are good people with a good purpose to work with the larger issues of housing and financing/management which faces many of our chapters.

Hats off to them.

zax
Lenoxxx

GammaZeta,

granted, none of us were there in your position. I ment the two young men who are living in the Building that Housed Gamma Zeta along with other Brothers at General Assembly.


I would feel better along with other Brothers if you identifed yourself through email or greekchat PM.


Some of the Brothers that you have accused of not knowing all of the facts have been through the situation before. Some being Lenoxx docroc, Jono, and myself as We are Alums of our respective Zetas and have all had trials and tribulations.

Granted, when LCAP was started, it was pretty loose. It has now become a strong part of LXA.

They (We ) are a Business, and Zetas should be run as a Business.

Jono, please quote to this thread what you and I talked about on the OLD Magazine of LXA.

None of seem to know when Gamma was officially gone from campus and all of the circumstances.

Please fill us in a little more besides your tireades from your memories.

We have all been there and are still doing it again.

Mike, I can do Earpspeak as I call age on you!:D


We as Brothers are hear to lend an ear if it is needed.

Lenoxx was instrumental in the New Phi Tau House, and He like many of us are a part of our respective Zetas and work with IHQ.

Some of your thoughts just do not seem to ring true.

The one that struck me was the issue with the Door Lock.

Damn, go buy a friggen door lock and put it on the damn door.

Well, the door lock is moot, isnt it.

Explain in a concise and respectfull term. Many of us have been around for a lot of years and that is why We are here because We care!


In ZAX,

If you would like the real scoop on LCAP, I invite you to ask any other brother of Gamma Zeta. LCAP was sued by several members of Gamma Zeta in housing court because the conditions were so bad and lcap was forced to settle out of court because the violations of Massachusetts General Law were so very clear. I believe each brother received something like $700 or $750 each for the violations against them. Also the house had continuously failed inspection after inspection for many months by the city of Amherst if I recall. The door lock I was talking about was for one of my best's friends room. LCAP never fixed the lock before he moved in, and for 3 months he was forced to use one of those kind where you have to use a hinge that swings open, I don't really know how to describe it. Only problem was, after house inspection the building inspector made him remove it, and he lived without a lock for some time. LCAP also tried to keep everyones security deposit, even though it was a VERY CLEAR violation of Massachusetts General Law. The contract they made the brothers sign was mostly voided because it contradicted M.G.L. It was not properly managed and anyone could have easily picked up a brochure for landlords in Massachusetts and could have know about how they were supposed to conduct themselves as landlords. Funny thing is they HAVE other houses in Massachusetts but the violations by them were so clear, and it bothers me that they either had no respect for the law OR they just chose to ignore it.

This weekend coming up I will try to actually take pictures of the house in question, at least the outside to show you what I am talking about. The roof has almost literally fallen off. That was probably the most major improvement needed right now. Can you post pictures in this forum?

And yes, as a chapter of 30 guys we did raise I think around $6-7,000, it is something we are proud of and we had beautiful hard wood floors in our common rooms to show for it. Only problem is, how do you expect people to continue when they just found out they owed some $50,000 in taxes? That would take the wind out of the sails of ANY chapter. The night we found out we owed that much was pretty much the last night before the end started. The Gamma Zeta house was pretty much run for 80 years by 19 and 20 year olds in college with minimal alumni support. That's a pretty big accomplishment if you ask me. But being that far in debt at a university where fraternity's were closing left and right pretty much means the end.

I'm glad everyone has had a positive experience with LCAP. With that knowledge I really think that they were only after the Gamma Zeta house, wanted to get rid of the chapter there, and simply start new. I know that the 30-45 alumni that I still have contact with feel the same way. I gave LCAP the benefit of the doubt, but they have had the house for I think almost 3 years and there STILL have been no noticeable improvements on the outside! I cannot understand that.

As Tom said, LCAP was very "loose" during it's first years and I hope that is why we were treated so badly. I again will give them the benefit of the doubt and will look forward to working with them in the future. When the new Gamma Zeta begins though, I can assure you that I will stick up for my chapter if things are left unfixed or promises broken. It happend once and I will not let it happen to my chapter again. I really hope LCAP has straightened out.

But I stress I still don't care what LCAP did. I only care that it is a Lambda Chi house with a Gamma Zeta chapter in it. I hope the future Gamma Zeta has a GREAT experience with LCAP, and since I still live somewhat locally nearby, you bet your A$$ I'm going to give as much support as possible to those guys.

Again I don't care about the LCAP stuff. I do care however is that the reputation of me, my brothers and friends is being lied about.

If you want me to gain "respect", how would you like it if people were posting lies about you and your chapter on the internet. I ask you, give me details, give me names, give me some facts and I will personally go to each brother that did that and have a very special conversation with them. What you considered "torment" happens to EVERY fraternity every weekend at Umass. It is nothing new. You jumped to a conclusion with no evidence. The OD's automatically assumed it was Gamma Zeta. None of you have ever even been to Umass before. It is not your typical fraternity university. Greeks at umass make up less than 2%, probably less by now. Because bad stuff happened in the house you automatically accused the GZ. That stuff that happened to them happened to us on a daily basis.

I love lca, and I love my chapter, and Im actually a pretty nice guy believe it or not. And I have some good ideas to share with you guys. When it comes to Gamma Zeta, please don't jump to conclusions. Just ask a question on this board and I'll answer it to the best of my ability.

Gamma Zeta has always been a small chapter. The last years we never really had more than 25-30 guys at a time. The last three years we probably averaged 14-18 guys in the house. It was simply too much for too little people with too much baggage and responsibility to take on. Our president failed out of school because he devoted too much time to the chapter for christ's sake!

We have been around about 85 years with 1500 alumni, that comes to an average of 17.65 brothers a year. It is a very close group, and many times we are lifelong friends. That rate is even smaller than the exclusive "Skull and Bones" that everyone hears about.

Now for a little Gamma Zeta trivia to maybe lighten the mood:

1. Gamma Zeta has been shut down before for 4 years, can anyone name the years that they were not living in the house???

2. What object is considered "cursed" by the fraternity but still resides in the chapter house today?

3. Why is the office of Gamma Zeta have a room number of 1462?

Interesting trivia questions. I don't have a clue.

Tom,

In looking for your reference I ran across something even better. (We all know fraternity has its business side anyway.)

Gamma Zeta ------Massachusetts Agricultural College

For the major part of the year just passed this Zeta has been discussing the house problem. The first part, the topic was, "Do we want to buy, build, or rent?" For several months this point alone was thrashed out with the result that we decided that in the end the purchase of a suitable house would be the best plan. Accordingly negotiations were begun and now the Gamma Zeta of this fraternity possesses a house that is worthy of it. The house is located at 82 Pleaseant Street, corner of Fearing Street, the former being a state road and one of the more important ones in Amherst. Sixteen rooms comprise the total complement of the house, which will be more than sufficient to contain all those who have signified their intentions of going into the fall. We shall take possesion on August 1 and the whole will be ready for occupation by September 1. The main credit for the purchase of the house is due to Brothers Nute, Webster and Goodwin. Several other men contributed their able assistance.
Fraternally,
Charles W. Curtin, Correspondent
Amherst, Massachusetts

--from the Purple, Green and Gold. Vol. 1, No 3 July, 1914
John E. Mason (E), Editor

ZAX,
Jono

Interesting reference there.
You may or may not know that there have been several major renovations to the Gamma Zeta house since 1914. Currently the house is divided into two section, the original house, which closely resembles the 7 other houses located on frat row, and the addition in back, which was put on a couple decades ago.

I lived in the original section for some time. You can still see the outlines of blocked off doorways, walls that have been removed and rebuilt, old staircases, sliding doors that have been removed and boarded up. I know that once there used to be a porch accessable on the second floor where the roof of the first floor porch is now. (I don't know if you understand that or not, it is difficult to describe without pictures). I cannot imagine fitting 16 rooms into the original part of the house. I know that from talking to some alumni, some of which had lived in the house 50 and 60 years ago, that everyone used to sleep in the attic on bunk bed style beds. The rooms downstairs were primarily for studying, relaxing, etc, and they would only sleep in the attic. I really have no clue as to where the original kitchens or bathrooms were since the "kitchen" in there now is under the "new" addition.

I do know that the house is much older than 1914 based on the construction materials of the foundation. The house is located on the corning of fearing st. but it now has a different house number. It is located on "frat row" and the original style of the house matches that of the 6-7 other fraternities on the row. It can be compared to today's modular or factory homes where they all look and are designed the same except for 1 or 2 minor differences and features. I do not know if the houses, including GZ, were built with the purpose of housing fraternities. The house is located very near to campus, but in 1914 before Umass expanded, I would say it would take quite some time to walk the distance to the original part of campus at that time.

Even today that "state road and the corning of Fearing" is still one of the most busy and important roads in Amherst.

The new addition was built a little over 20-25 years I think. All it really is is a big box attached to the original house. It did double the size of the house and added alot of room to the basement where a laundry room, kitchen and dining room were added.

As far as I can tell, all the original electrical was replaced. I am very familiar with turn of the century houses as my family owns and rents several of them in the Western Massachusetts area, some older than GZ. The heating system was added later as you can tell by the countless pipes across the ceiling running all over the place.

As far as I can tell the house probably went through several major renovations. One a couple decades ago, the first probably in the late 30's, early 40's, and another in the late 50's early 60's. I have seen photos of the house in the early 60's and it does not match what the house is described as prior to that decade (ie: window placement, porches, doors, etc.).

I do know that from all the alumni I talked to, the basement was the location of all initiation rituals which was something that continued to the last brother being initiated.

I'm going to try to think of some more things later on that might be of interest to you. I tried to be as accurate as possible in my recollection but I know I probably got one or two things wrong.

Brothers,

This is good stuff! I really enjoy this type of information about our Fraternity. I am especially interested in the histories of local Zetas. Thank you "Gamma Zeta!"

I think I might have the answer to the first question: World War II, maybe first semester 1942 to first semester 1946. I know many fraternity houses were converted to military housing for students who were in various ROTC units.

As with Jono, I don't have a clue about the other two answers....

Yours in ZAX,

Mike Raymond, ZUZ

I and many of Us Brothers on GC find your last post a little more informative.

I looking at LXA Int. Site, you can go to properties and link to LCAP and then find Mass. It shows some interesting pictures. I cannot say for any surety when they were taken.

Just from the pictures alone, it looks like a huge house. Pics can be deceiving though. It also from the roof line that additions have been added.

According to the latest Peadagogus, U Mass has been dormint since 1980.

Was it revived again since then and then closed again?

I am wondering about the time line that you are giving us.

If in fact Gamma has been dorment since 1980, the LCAP was not even in existence then.

It is great that you ask Historical questions, but I think we all dont want questions, We would like more truer facts and answers.


I think, the important part right know is not bickering and making accusations about something that is said and one, but the reopening of Gamma Zeta.

By the way, if you did not give up the Charter as Via The By-Laws require, where is it?

I am not trying to huff and puff, but to get to the bottom of all of this.

I'm 95% sure that Gamma Zeta was shut down between the years 1976-1979/1980, or at the very least was re-established in 1979/1980 as the alumni tell me. I do know that Pike occupied the house during those four years. Our house history only went as far back as 1980 when I was there, including composites, paddles, bills, rosters, etc. I think a great deal of history was lost during those four years we were shut down.

That leads me to the next question. What was the "cursed" object in the chapter house. Well there was an "incident" which occured on the POOL TABLE that lead to Gamma Zeta being closed down for that time.

The brothers have always said the pool table was cursed and brought bad luck because of what happened on it but no one ever considered throwing it out because, hey, it's a good pool table.

The office in Gamma Zeta has a room number of 1462 in memory of a brother that lost his life while sleeping in his dorm room at Umass. 1462 was his Zeta number and the brothers in turn renamed the office in tribute.

You know, if you guys are really interested in the history of Gamma Zeta, which might in turn relate to the history of LCA, I might have some free time this week to visit the Umass-Amherst archives in the Umass library. It is a massive archive and if you give me something specific to look for I may be able to locate something. Let me know any suggestions.

I and all of us are wondering how if the Gamma Chapter was closed in 1980, how and when was it recharterd or reopened since then?

According to some of the things that you have placed, you were there after that and uptill about 2-3 years ago, Gamma was still a functioning Chapter.

Sounds like a lot "mucking" going on here.

Mike I am sure you and maybe a couple of other Brothers know what I am refering to.:)

GammaZeta, we all fell that there is a lot more going on here that presents itself and dont know why.

Phi-Tau Zeta had the same problem with thier new house not from LCAP but the previous Organization that lived there and lost it, blaming them for aquiring it and refurbing it with LCAP assistance. Actually, it was they who lost it through Numbers, Money Owed, ETC.

Yeah, I was right, it was 1980 we were re-established. We lived in the house until 2003, and there are still some GZ's at Umass right now. As for the first actual charter of GZ, mostly everything before 1980 is lost, thrown out, scattered or stolen. I remember something being signed by the GZ president of 1998 as an informal charter which I think was our "charter." No one ever really displayed it or anything, it was just lost in a big paper pile. I have never seen any formal charter, ever in my 4 years there. But I can assure you Tom that GZ has not been dormant since 1980!

I guess if we never had a physical charter we can't give it up. The proper procedure of making a chapter dormant wasn't really a top priority for us at that moment. When GZ disbanded in 2003, everyone just pretty much moved out of the house. There wasn't some big vote taken and documents signed or anything. In fact, all the brothers picked other brothers as their roommates in apartments around Amherst. Gamma Zeta stuck together, just not as a fraternity.

We never really went by if we were a "colony" or a "chapter" since historically we only averaged some 17 brothers a year. I think you need 20 members to be a chapter, maybe someone knows. But in the 23 years I know our numbers reached almost 60 and were at the lowest with 11 members.

The house itself really isn't too big. The photos make it look bigger, especially on the outside. It has long narrow hallways and a very damp basement. The photos really don't show much of it. You can see the original house from the expansion though in the photos. The photos were taken I think in 2002. It's too bad it doesn't have the original basement.

If you ever go into the original basement by yourself and close your eyes you can imagine what it must have been like in 1914 performing the first ritual in the house. It's really something every LCA interested in history should do someday if they pass by Amherst.

And you can see the pool table in the bottom photo.

Tom,
I can assure you that Gamma Zeta was a fully functioning chapter/colony between the years 1980 and 2002/3.

Let me see if I can clear this up: I was an associate in fall 1999, moved into the house spring 00. I lived there in fall 00, spring 01, fall 01, didnt live there spring 02, moved back fall 02, then we all moved out that winter of 02. So no GZ has lived there in about 2 years. My last semester there I did not consider myself an active member and also wasn't active when I did not live in the house. Although I wasn't officially active, I was always there for advice, news, etc. and did partake in many house functions Hope that clears things up for ya.

The Gamma Zeta was re-opened in 1980.

Maybe you misunderstood.

What I said, was that in the newest Paedogogus, it showed closed in 1980. Nothing about reopening and then reclosing for the time line that you are refering to.

This Paed. just came out this year.

While your discussion is interesting, there are many of us who have access to documents that are not following this of which you spake?:(

I know for a fact as many of us oldsters are aware of, that some from IHQ lurk this Site. Can any of you be of help in the timing that GammaZeta is talking about?

If not, I or someone else will be more than happy contact IHQ to get a clarification.

We are all interested in Getting Gamma Chapter back up and running!:)

Tom,

Both the 2003 Paedagogus (p.107) and the 1991 Baird's Manual indicate Gamma was closed (dormant) 1976-1980.

Thank you! LOL!
I was worried that some of you didn't believe me that Gamma Zeta wasn't open for the last 23 years! LOL!

I also wanted to let some of you know that I will soon begin a new thread tonight and hopefully let this one drift away since there are so many topics being discussed in it.

I would like to start a thread, being added to every couple of days, of the last 6 year history of Gamma Zeta, the troubles of the chapter, the good things the chapter did, what caused it's downfall, how the Umass greek system is/was, relationships within the chapter external/internal, my own personal experiences, etc. I will make it in chronological order by semester.

I think if I relate my experience it can be very helpful to all of you, especially those who may not have been in college for some time, to maybe avoid some of the mistakes and use some of the good things that happened. Of course my experience will be somewhat biased, but I will try to be as open minded and fair as possible (of course I will not try to embarass or hurt anyone or name call). However I will be as truthfull and factual as I can. I ask of you to comment on each thread as I post it, but please do not jump to conclusions until I am finally done with my "diary."

Some of the things I post you may not like. Like all fraternities, Gamma Zeta was no angel. I have visited 6 other Lambda Chi's and I can tell you that some that APPEARED to be by "by the book" and "goody goodies" were actually some of the most wild, crazy, illegal fraternities I have ever visited. And I can also tell you that some of the craziest, bad reputation chapters I visited acted like they were Amish.

So Gamma Zeta wasn't perfect, does that make your chapter better than us? I'm going to tell the truth, and provide as much support as possible so there is no question of the validity of my story. Just remember, "those in glass houses...." you know the rest.

So please, I ask of you to hold comments on this thread and post them on my new thread tonight once I am done with it so that we can start a new, concise, and productive conversation.

Yepper, that is what I was refering to. But, it did not give any reopening and closing.

Basically, according to the newest Paed. it functioned till 1980. Last date shown.

If it was reopened after that and then became dormite, it usaully says that.

That is what I was questioning.

But, maybe the New GammaZeta Thread will help all of us get a time line and grasp of all of the events that happened.:)

Have read some of it and am looking forward to reading much more!:cool:

That's really weird that they didn't include 23 years in the Paed. I don't have any Paeds. available right now, but what does the last edition say about GZ? What else did they say about the other local chapters in New England, I think Alpha and R.I were closed for a little bit since 1980.

Oh well, I never found the Paed. to be the most accurate source anyway. I'll just mark that one up as a big typo or mistake on the editor/publisher.

But between 1980-2003, GZ was open.

Unless someone is playing a 7 year practical joke on me, made some fake photo composites and had dozens of actors playing GZ brothers!!!! Hmmmmmmmm. LOL!

That actually leads me to an interesting question. What chapter has been around the longest (total years in operation)? Also which chapter has been open the longest without going dormant?

True that Bro!

Sometimes is hard to finger our things that happens at ihq.

OK, I am picking my nose at the time while I wrote this.

But, remember, IHQ can be like any Zeta We know!;)

Carry on the work of Your and G Z History!:)

I am for one and can think of others who are interested.:cool:

Remember, The Paed will list Chartering and closing and when re chartered. That was what I was refering to. Last dat4e 1980.

If a screw up then not my doing!

Go, work with the Local there and return Gamma Back Soon!:cool:

2003 Paedagogus, page 107:

002 Massachusetts - Amherst: Gamma; Amherst, Massachusetts, founded 1863, state; picked delegation, chartered May 18, 1912; 1501 initiates [dormant 1976-1980].

That means active before 1976 and active after 1980.

It used to be common practice - at least up north - for members to sleep barracks-style on the top floor, and keep the windows open all year round. Sometimes snow would drift against the beds. I even tried it one night while visiting Beta up in Maine. They called it "the Ram", I don't know why. They all had electric blankets (the room was unheated), but no alarm clocks. A brother stationed outside was appointed to quietly wake each guy when it was time for class.

They did the same thing at Cornell in a room they call "the Dormer", now a weight room. Check out
http://www.iswza.org/edgemoor/roomname.html
The Dormer is on the Third Floor. There's also a room on the Second Floor called "the Bank" - for a very interesting reason. :o

ZAX,
Jono

Brother Jono,

We never used a "rack room" system. However, it is still used by some fraternities at Miami University. I believe that both Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Chi use this system now. We have always used a one or two man to a room layout with a large bathroom on each floor.

We also had names for different rooms and floor in the various houses we have owned over the years. The "Liver" for the Living Room; the "Diner" for the Dining Room; the "U-Room" for the Bar Room; the "Palace" for one House that was much loved but also much run-downed; and the "Habitrail" for an addition that had a certain "hamster quality" to its layout.

This all added to the memories for those who lived in our Chapter Houses over the years.

Yours in ZAX,

Mike Raymond, ZUZ

GammaZeta,

Upon clearing out some 8,000 e-mails from my Sent Folder (yeah, four years worth), I came across an item I had forgotten about.

In February, 2002 I saw the Gamma Charter, or a copy of it, up for auction on ebay and wrote to several brothers from your chapter to let them know about it.

This seems to be the time period you weren't living in the house, but I'm now wondering if you know what ever happened with that auction, and who ended up with it?

Was it an actual Charter or a copy from Warren Cole's personal items? Do you remember hearing anything about it?

In ZAX,
Jono

Good Evening,

I am very familiar with that situation. I bought a large number of items that came from the estate of Warren A. Cole's daughter. I got to know the woman who was selling the items quite well over a month or two of buying things from her. When the Gamma Zeta "Charter" came up on e-Bay, I placed a bid. She contacted me shortly thereafter to tell me that individual Lambda Chis, some from IHQ, were threatening her because she had this "Charter." It was like she had stolen it.

However, I noticed that the document was not signed by the proper officers and therefore had never been issued. As most every Lambda Chi knows, Warren A. Cole issued Charters in anticipation of all necessary approvals and so forth. Meaning that this one was probably never issued because the Chartering date would have been wrong on the document! I believe that he kept this one in his personal collection and it eventualy was passed on to his daughter. I offered to buy it from her and then turn it over to IHQ.

She eventually gave it our Fraternity. I put a "little heat" on a few people at IHQ because I felt that they did not act as gentlemen toward this very nice lady. Eventually, she contacted me again saying that she got a letter and flowers from our fraternity.

Obviuosly, that "Charter" is an important document for our archives. It helps demonstrate that Warren A. Cole was working feverously to help our Fraternity grow. It is also a great example of how his zeal and enthusiasm got ahead of his usual planning....

Yours in ZAX,

Mike Raymond, ZUZ

Interesting story. Glad it's back. Like I said before, after we were shut down in 76 and reopened in 80, everything prior to those years were long gone.

That was what I was refering to, but maybe misworded.

It shows in the newest Paed. that was a functioning Zeta after 1980 which it isnt. Did not list a closeing date.

Hopefully in the near future.:cool:

I'm a little confused Tom by your wording.

Gamma Zeta was a fully functioning Zeta from 1980-2002.

I just wanted to say that everything, including documents, paddles, history, charters, prior to 1980 were lost. So please don't blame any of the current or recent brothers for losing anything , everything was already long gone before I got there. I myself was very sad when I found out we had no history prior to 1980. I'm a HUGE local history buff and would have loved to read some of the original documents, etc.:mad: